Elections in Rwanda, Kagame towards the plebiscite with more than 99 percent of the votes

The president in office since 1994 once again imposed himself without real democratic opposition in the elections in Rwanda.

President Paul Kagame got the 99.15 percent of the votes in the presidential elections held in Rwanda on Monday 15 July.The results, although still provisional, were broadcast live on television by the president of the electoral commission.This is a widely announced result, which reflects the data of the previous rounds and clearly shows the lack of a truly democratic structure in the African country.

New undemocratic elections in Rwanda

Before the elections, Kagame largely blocked the candidacy of his most vocal critics, effectively preventing his opponents from questioning his power. Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and the independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana they obtained less than one percent of the votes overall.Numbers that show in a crystal clear way how the elections in Rwanda cannot be defined as either free or democratic.The definitive results are expected within the next few days, but it is clear that they will not shift the burdens on the field in the slightest.Already in 2017 Kagame was re-elected with more than 99 percent.Considering the last three presidential elections, however, it has always obtained percentages above 90 percent.

Paul Kagame, from the Rwandan genocide at the head of an illiberal government

Paul Kagame has led Rwanda continuously since the end of the disaster genocide of 1994.At the time he was the commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR), accused of having assassinated the then president Habyarimana and that of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira, both of the Hutu ethnic group, who died in a mysterious plane crash.The episode was used as a pretext to start the extermination of the Tutsis, who together with the Hutus constituted the two main ethnic groups of Rwanda.It was one of the darkest pages in the history of the twentieth century, which in one hundred days caused the death of a number between 800 thousand and 1,071,000 people.Since then, a lot has changed.Kagame retained power for the next 30 years, amending the Constitution to continue to govern beyond the end of the two terms previously in force.Over the years it has become impossible to form a real opposition to the FPR.

Abroad, Kagame presented himself as a reliable ally of the West, supporting the policies of externalization of the borders of many countries.It has signed advantageous economic agreements with Israel for deportation of irregular migrants expelled from the country, also entering into negotiations with Denmark and, above all, the United Kingdom at the time of Boris Johnson.The Rwanda plan has been repealed during Keir Starmer's first day as prime minister, without a single flight ever departing towards Kigali.On the other hand, Kagame has already received more £100m of funding, which his government has said it intends not to return.